For tech cos visa issues & protectionism should not be barriers: Sanjeev Bikhchandani

In a world where economic uncertainties prevail and countries are increasingly looking inwards, it will help emerging tech companies to forget such narratives and focus on customers.Pranbihanga Borpuzari | ET Online | Updated: November 15, 2016, 10:52 IST

During early 80's and 90's India's tech companies focused on the US and other overseas markets, a model that grew very well. The likes of Infosys, Wipro and HCL started during these times and grew to be very successful companies.

Then came the Internet era and in the beginning you had companies targeting NRIs, but as the Indian internet base increased you had Indian companies targeting the domestic market. You now have the mobile era where you had a bunch of companies solving domestic problems and addressing domestic markets.

From ecommerce, payment solutions, food technology and transportation, startups have evolved and are scaling up. There have been two to three different kinds of waves for the Indian tech industry and each has been significant in its contributions.

To ensure you keep growing you need to ensure you firstly have a large enough addressable market. Along with that you need a disruptive superior proposition that can go viral and get you paying customers. Thirdly, to do all this you need a management team that can take you to greatness.

Entrepreneurship and tech companies are now well entrenched and it is not just one or two sectors where we as a country posses strength. You see usage of tech in many areas and this is fuelling new kinds of business and entirely new sectors. Ecommerce, travel, payments, jobs, real estate, education are big sectors and you have startups and tech companies playing disruptive roles in each of these segments. Indian tech companies have diversified and play across a wide range of sectors and segments.

In a world where economic uncertainties prevail and countries are increasingly looking inwards, it will help emerging tech companies to forget such narratives and focus on customers. Your customer can be in India or can be overseas, but nothing should prevent you from reaching out to them.

When I hear about visa issues and protectionism, it is important to remember that the Internet today is global, which means you can sit in India and in all probability be able to conduct your overseas business with minimum fuss. In the mobile age, barriers and walls are not very significant. You need to solve an unsolved problem and create value. Whatsapp is a great example of a US company finding wide acceptance in India because of the value it was able to offer.

However, at the end of the day for emerging and growing tech companies, growth is primarily dependant on your ability to solve an unsolved problem. In the process, you have to invest in building your intellectual property (IP) and take measures to safeguard it. This can be your designs, algorithms, database or anything else that is significant and a differentiator for your business. Tech companies also have to realize that they do not only deal with machines. At the end of the day, the founder has to deal with his employees and external stakeholders. For this you need to be a good people person.

High percentage growth may taper as you grow bigger, but it is important to remember that a high rate of growth can be achieved continuously. So, do not be happy with where you are. As a firm you need to continuously evolve and ensure you are riding the wave.